2024 Intercity League Champions – Andre Chiefs

2024 Intercity League Champions – Andre Chiefs

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Blue Sox Unbeaten Streak Extends to 13 Games

INTERCITY LEAGUE NEWS & NOTES

Lexington Extends the Finals to Game Four

Melrose – Lexington lives to play another day with a 1-0 game three win over Andre Friday night at Morelli Field. Game Four is set for Sunday at 8:00 p.m. at Morelli Field in Melrose. The Blue Sox scored the game’s lone run in the fifth inning. Jake McElroy doubled down the rightfield line with one out. After the second out, Anderson Jimenez singled to right and McElroy raced home to give Lexington a 1-0 lead. Matt Draper picked up his first playoff win with two-hit, three-shutout innings. He came in relief in the fourth. In that frame, Draper pitched out of a runner on second and third with one out jam by striking out Juan Parra and Miles Reid. He retired nine of the last ten Chiefs batters he faced, six by strikeout. Dan Metzdorf started for Lexington and threw four shutout innings. Metzdorf gave up one hit, walked two, and struck out six. He faced the minimum through three innings thanks to a first-inning double play. With Parra (HBP) on first and one out, Teddy Dzuiba lofted a to left center that Sox left fielder Ben Leonard tracked down and easily doubled up Parra who had rounded second base. Metzdorf set down the Chiefs in order in the second and third with four strikeouts. Dzuiba got the Chiefs first hit in the fourth ending the no-hit bid at 3 1/3 innings. The Chiefs loaded the bases on two walks sandwiched around Dzuiba’s hit. The Sox lefty got Byron Woodman on a pop-up too short to end the threat. Tim Dunphy started for the Chiefs and pitched a complete game. The veteran lefty gave up eight hits, one run, walked one, and struck out two in six innings. McElroy, Jimenez, and Dylan Walsh had two hits for the Blue Sox. McElroy has gone 6-for-8 in his last two playoff games, with five runs, three doubles, and an RBI.  Jimenez now has a four-game hit streak this postseason going 7-for-11 with two doubles; and five RBI. The Blue Sox win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Chiefs in the playoffs going back to 2023. For Lexington, it was its third 1-0 game these playoffs and second 1-0 win. This is the first time since 2006 that there have been three 1-0 games in the Intercity League playoffs. The Blue Sox are now 4-3 in 1-0 playoff games since 2006. In the postseason the Sox are now 26-25 in 1-run games and 22-10 in shutouts. Against the Chiefs in the postseason Lexington is now 7-5 in 1-run games and 7-6 in shutouts. The last time the Chiefs were blanked in the playoffs was on August 5, 2022, by Middlesex, 3-0. The last time by Lexington was on August 14, 2019, also 1-0 and Dunphy was the losing pitcher.   By Bruce Hack, Lexington Team Historian

Chiefs One Way Away from Title

Melrose – The Andre Chiefs put on a hitting clinic Wednesday night on their way to a 15-3 win over Lexington at Morelli Field. The Chiefs now lead the best-o-five finals 2-0 and can close out the series tonight in game three starting at 8:00 pm. The Chiefs scored at least a run in all six innings including a six-run fourth that put the game away. They have now scored in seven consecutive innings going back to the seventh inning of game one. Right fielder Joe Bova led the Chiefs’ 19-hit attack with three hits and five RBI. Bova was one of four Chiefs with three hits. Also, in the three-hit club were Teddy Dzuiba, Mitchell Schroeder, and Nate Witkowski. For Dzuiba it was his third straight three-hit game. For Schroeder and Witkowski they each scored and drove in two runs. Joining the hit parade were Hector Pellot with two hits and three runs, and Byron Woodman with two hits, two runs, and two RBI. Every Chiefs starter had at least one hit and scored a run. Paul Frisoli was the beneficiary of the offense. The Chiefs starter went the distance and gave up five hits. He struck out 11, gave up three runs, and walked three. He had 1-2-3 innings in the second and third, setting down seven consecutive Lexington batters. Lexington started quickly in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Jeff Costello reached on a throwing error to begin the action. Anderson Jimenez followed with a double down the left-field line for a 1-0 Blue Sox lead. After the first out, Julian Alvarez singled up the middle driving in Jimenez with his 20th career postseason RBI. The Blue Sox added their final run in the fourth. With the bases loaded on two fielders’ choices and a walk David VanderZouwen was walked on four pitches to bring in Julian Alvarez to make it 7-3 after 3 and a half. The 15 runs scored equals the most scored by the Chiefs in a playoff game since 2006. The first time they scored 15 was on August 20, 2015, when they lost 16-15 in nine innings to Lexington in the championship-clinching game for the Blue Sox. Other team playoff records the Chiefs set are for hits (19), RBI (14), and total bases (24). Bova’s five RBI came on a two-run single, a two-run double, and a solo home run. His offense came after striking out in his first two at bats. Bova’s five RBI are believed to be the third most in a playoff game for the Chiefs. He trails Ben Waldrip (7) on August 18, 2018, against Melrose and Juan Portes (6) in the nine-inning game against Lexington in 2015.   By Bruce Hack, Lexington Team Historian

Reed leads Chiefs to Game One Finals WIn

Melrose – The Andre Chiefs rode the right arm of Silas Reed to take game one of the Intercity League finals 5-3 over Lexington Tuesday night. Game two is scheduled for tonight at Morelli Field in Melrose, the host site of the finals. In his second start of the playoffs, Reed pitched his second complete game to improve to 2-0 in the postseason. He was coming off a 1-hit shutout of Melrose in the first game of their semifinal series. Against Lexington, he gave up four hits, and three runs, walked three, struck out nine, and threw four wild pitches. He retired 11 consecutive Blue Sox batters from the last out of the third to the first out of the seventh, including three 1-2-3 innings. The Chiefs got on board quickly scoring in the top of the first inning. Miles Reid singled, Teddy Dzuiba doubled (first of his three hits) to put runners on second and third with one out. Hector Pellot grounded out to short, and Reid crossed the plate for the 1-0 lead. Lexington responded in their half of the second inning. A walk, hit batter, and walk loaded the bases with one out. Charlie Walsh delivered the tying run with a line drive single to center. The Blue Sox benefitted from Reed’s wildness as two passed balls allowed Josue Feliciano and Dylan Walsh to score and give the Sox a 3-1 lead. The Chiefs quickly regained the lead in the top half of the third. A walk to Reid and, a single by Dzuiba placed Chiefs on first and second with one out. Pellot’s double to center scored Reid. Mitchell Schroeder followed with a single to drive in Dzuiba and knot the game at 3-3. Lexington starter Michael O’Brien was replaced by Chris Wanat who induced a ground ball by Bryon Woodman. Sox third baseman Anderson Jimenez charged the ball, fielded it cleanly, and made a nice throw to get Woodman at first, but Pellot scored giving the Chiefs a 4-3 lead. Reed took over from there. He stranded Blue Sox on first and third in the third. Then he had his run of 11 straight batters set down until the seventh when the Sox got runners to second and third with two outs before he ended the game with a strikeout. This was the third straight playoff win over Lexington for the Chiefs. They swept Lexington in two games in the semifinals last season. This was the Chiefs’ first win over Lexington in the finals since game five on August 26, 2014. The win was the seventh consecutive playoff win for the Chiefs dating back to last year’s finals. For the eighth time, the Chiefs and Blue Sox are meeting in the finals. This is the fifth time they are going against each other as the #1 and #2 seeds. Seeding is based on a team’s finish in the regular season. By finishing first Lexington is the number seed for the playoffs. The two teams have split the first four meetings as #1 and #2. Each team won as the #1 seed and as the #2 seed. Lexington starter O’Brien pitched 2.1 innings in his first playoff appearance. He gave up five hits, and three runs, walked three, and struck out two. Wanat pitched 4.1 innings in relief giving up seven hits, one run, and striking out four. Anderson Jimenez had two hits for Lexington. Dzuiba led all batters with three hits. Reid had two hits and two runs for the Chiefs. Schroeder also had two hits and Pellot drove in two for the Chiefs.   By Bruce Hack, Lexington Team Historian

Lexington advances to Finals with 14-4 Win

Lexington – Lexington put on its hitting shoes and knocked out 19 hits on its way to a 14-4 win over Middlesex Sunday night. The win propelled the Blue Sox into the championship round. The Blue Sox will face a familiar opponent in the finals.  The Andre Chiefs await them for game one on Tuesday night at Morelli Field in Melrose. Game time is set for 8:00 pm. Middlesex scored first in the bottom of the first. Leon Paulino tripled into the rightfield corner driving in Idelson Taveras and Eduardo Soto. Paulino scored on a sacrifice fly by John Batista and it was 3-0 Expos. As they had done on Friday night the Blue Sox quickly responded with a big, crooked number in the top of the second. Two quick hits (both on the first pitch) and a sacrifice put Sox runners on second and third. Dylan Walsh scored the first two runs of the inning with a single. After the second out Max Dushney singled to score Walsh and tie the game at 3-3. Jake McElroy singled, Anderson Jimenez doubled to drive in 2 more and scored on an RBI single by Julian Alvarez to make it 6-3. McElroy paced the attack from the leadoff spot. He had four hits, including two doubles, and scored four runs and an RBI. Jimenez finished the night with three RBI on two hits and scored twice. Jeff Costello banged out two hits, 2 runs, and an RBI. Josue Feliciano had two hits, a run, and two RBI. Charlie Walsh had 2 hits and drove in a run. Dushey scored and walked twice. Cole Donato picked up the win in relief of Lexington starter Luke Descheneaux. Donato pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits with two strikeouts. Middlesex started Dan Shaw who was facing Lexington for the third time in 10 days. He pitched against them on August 1 in the makeup game and lost 3-2 pitching seven innings at Minuteman Tech. On August 6 he started the first game of the semifinals at East Boston. Shaw pitched 7.2 innings and lost 1-0 in the eighth. Last night he lasted three innings, giving up 10 hits and seven runs. He also faced the Sox on June 3 at Lexington and pitched six scoreless innings in the 0-0 nine-inning tie game. McElroy placed his name in the Lexington Record Book (since 2006) as he tied the team record with his two doubles. His four hits, and four runs, both tied for second most in a playoff game. As a team, the Blue Sox made new entries into their record book. The six doubles are tied for the most in a playoff game, while the 19 hits are tied for third most and the 14 runs are tied for fourth most. Though the series had three games in Lexington, at Minuteman Technical Vocational High School, the Blue Sox never played a game on their home field at Lexington High School. Game one was played in East Boston and the last three games were played at Minuteman Tech. Now the play shifts to Morelli Field and the Blue Sox will go through the entire playoffs without playing at home. This will be the eighth time the Chiefs and Blue Sox have met in the finals and the first since 2016. That season ended a six-year run of Lexington and the Chiefs playing in the finals. By Bruce Hack, Lexington Team Historian